"I have something for you," Will said. He sat a box down in front of Nico..
"We're not together anymore, Solace."
"This was Chiron's idea anyway. Think of it as an early birthday present."
"But I don't- have… a birthday."
"Come on, open it."
Nico lifted the lid and tossed it aside. "It's a piece of pavement. Will took the concrete out and gave it to Nico. "Keep it. That's important for later."
"What are-"
"Just trust me, okay?" He took out a leather bound journal and flipped it open. Inside the cover was a single black and white photo of Bianca and Maria. Nico could have gotten lost looking at the two of them if Will hadn't distracted him.
He tapped the third person in the photo. He nodded and held out his hand for the concrete. Nico stared at it and laughed even though tears were burning his eyes. He decided to keep it for himself
"Chiron's been putting this together for months," Will explained. "I helped him find a few things. Like, we've worked out that the year was somewhere between 1933 and 1937 but the record keeping was not the best back then so since you're about to be sixteen-"
He shook his head. "I'm not. I just turned fifteen." Will smiled in that way of his and said, "That's great. It even adds up. January 28th. And that year isn't important anyway. You would have been born in 2008."r
Nicoealized that Zeus was his grandfather. And Kronos was his.
He took out a folded sheet of paper. "This is a letter that your mom wrote to her parents when she was living in Cypress." He slid it back into the front of the journal.
"Chiron suspected that you would feel the way you do so he had some things made for you. Since we had the year 2008 to work with we were able to get you a birth certificate and social." He took them out of the box and added them to the journal. "You have to go in person to get your learner's permit but you can let Chiron know when you're ready for that." He gestured to the concrete Nico was still holding and told me, "This can be your foundation, Nico." He glanced at the box and said, "I wonder what else is in there."
He rolled his eyes. It was a weird globe on a pedestal and at first Nico thought it was a witch's looking glass. "It's a plasma lamp," Will said. "Let's try it."
Streaks of blue and purple lightning danced harmlessly inside. The way they flowed like water and fire reminded me of Percy and Jason at the same time. "Now that you're living in the Apollo cabin you might as well start making it yours too. Check this out." He ran his finger along the side of the lamp and the lightning followed it.